"You are shooting the messenger here. I didn't lie. Have a go at the guy who said it on loudspeaker to thousands of people."

Anderton denied that that was the case but McNamara tweeted an audio clip of the announcement to prove he was telling the truth.

The announcer did in fact say: "Got us ankle injury at the moment. A very slight injury. Enjoy the rest of the game and get behind them and Up the Spurs."

Despite McNamara's proof, Anderton refused to back down.

In an interview with bookmaker BoyleSports he said: "I was asked if I would go on the pitch at half-time just to hand out some prizes to the kids who were trying to hit the crossbar with an American football because Spurs are going to have some games at the new stadium.

(Image: Getty)

"So he [the announcer] knew I was a big fan of the NFL. I've been to three Super Bowls, which was great fun, so I said I'll just go out on the pitch.

"I think he just made a joke as we were walking off. He just said Darren couldn't do it because he picked up an injury - all tongue-in-cheek.

"Then someone has decided to tweet that I missed out on doing it because shock horror I was injured, so I would let him know that that wasn't the case."